Former Infosys Principal Consultant Blows the Whistle on Company’s Illegal Visa Practice, Prompting Federal Investigation

Last week CBS News reported that Jay Palmer, a former principal consultant for Infosys Limited, filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the information technology firm, sparking a federal investigation by the Department of State and Homeland Security and Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).

Palmer alleges that Infosys used the H-1B and B-1 visa programs to commit visa fraud. According to Palmer, the company used these visa programs to bring to the U.S. Indian workers who would be willing to work for less than American worker:

“[Infosys] could outbid everyone or underbid everybody on every contract (because they were paying less.) For example… if I’m gonna pay you $15,000 a year why would I pay an American or a legal worker $65,000 a year? It makes no – it’s just economics.”

In order to bring Indian workers to the U.S., Infosys first used H-1B visas, a program intended for foreign workers with specialized skills or technical abilities that cannot be found among American workers. However, Palmer states, many workers that Infosys brought to the U.S. under this program lacked the specialized skills necessary to qualify for the H-1B visa program.

Furthermore, Palmer alleges that once the U.S. State Department began to limit the number of H-1B visas issued, Infosys began bringing workers to the U.S. under B-1 visas, which are meant for foreign employees traveling to the U.S. to attend training seminars or conventions.  Because the B-1 program prohibits holders from using the visa to work in the U.S., Infosys maintained a list of “do’s and don’ts” on how to obtain B-1 visas for that prohibited purpose. Palmer says that once he blew the whistle on the company’s illegal practices, Infosys executives retaliated against him.

The Employment Law Group® law firm has an extensive nationwide whistleblower practice  representing employees who have been victims of retaliation.

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